Stalking Joe McKinley: That hot eventer guy on ‘Full Metal Jousting’

Thanks to tipster Carolyn Bahr, I have a new reason to watch something other than that zombie show on Sunday nights, and his name is Joe McKinley.

Carolyn was kind enough to send us Joe’s audition video for Full Metal Jousting, which aired its second episode last night. Why don’t you watch it and THEN we’ll talk about how hot Joe is.

So, what do you think? Yeah, I know–not only is he good-looking, he’s great with kids and clearly not afraid to be like, “Yeah, I’m gonna jump down this bank bareback, what.” Obviously, he made the cast.

The premise of the show, in case you’re unfamiliar, is pretty simple: Basically they get together a big group of tough guys with pretty faces who know how to stay on a horse and have them run at each other on horseback with lances, gladiator-like, trying to knock one another off. I haven’t actually seen the show, yet, but I did some legwork on it here.

Anyway, back to Joe. The History Channel website offered this in the way of a bio.

OK, but I was left thirsting for a little more depth. I used my sleuth Googling skills to find out that he’s an instructor at Mill Creek Equestrian Center outside L.A. The stable’s website further provided this synopsis of his life story:

Joe McKinley was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area and has been riding since the age of seven. He started working with Teresa Korol at the age of 10 and worked with her to compete through the Preliminary Level until leaving for college in 2001. He attended the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy and graduated in 2005 with a B.S. degree. Upon returning from school, he began riding with Teresa again and working with her as an assistant. He has shown several horses for clients of Dayna Lynn Pugh and has schooled other clients’ horses up through intermediate level. Joe has a reputation for getting the job done with tact, finesse and a lovely quiet manner. Joe’s riding technique encourages the horses to like and respect him.

Joe has a very interesting non-equestrian history and is a very well-rounded individual… blah, blah, blah, we don’t really care about any of that now do we.

I tried to call Mill Creek but didn’t get an answer. Back to the computer to look up Joe’s USEA competition record. Looks like Joe has been rocking it on his current mount, Mister Brightside, with two firsts and a second at their last two training-level events. Good work, Joe, you just got boosted even higher on my hot-o-meter.

It’s no secret among lady eventers, though, that you should never get too excited about a good-looking male equestrian if you know what I mean. So, it was off to Facebook to stalk Joe’s personal life. It was immediately clear that Joe is a fan of the ladies–he lists “boats, horses and girls” as his personal interests. The bad news: He’s “in a relationship.”

Well, fudgesicle. I’ll tell you what, though, ladies–a few of the other contestants on the show look yummy as well. There’s a show-jumper, a couple of polo players… Imma check ’em out and get back to you.

Originally published Feb. 20, 2012.